This text applies a consumption approach to the study of ethnicity and nationalism, thereby challenging the usual top down approach to nation-formation. Contributors look at different forms of consumption, including the national lottery, theme parks, museums, cross-cultural handbooks, pop songs and audio-visual material. Chapters span diverse parts of Asia, from Korea, Japan and China to Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

The debate about Japan's 'uniqueness' is central to Japanese studies. This book aims to illuminate that debate from a comparative and theoretical perspective. It also tests theories of ethnicity and cultural nationalism through the use of Japan as a case study.
Yoshino examines how ideas of national distinctiveness are produced' and consumed' in Japanese society through a study of intellectuals, teachers and businessmen. He finds that ideas of Japanese uniqueness, the nihonjinron, have been embraced more by those in business than in education. He looks at the Japanese perception...